US judge blocked application of temporary H-1B visa ban imposed by Donald Trump (File)
Washington:
In a major relief for thousands of Indian IT professionals, a US federal judge on Thursday blocked the application of a temporary visa ban by the Trump administration on a large number of work permits, including visas H-1B most wanted, ruled that the president exceeded his constitutional authority.
The order made by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of the Northern District of California applies to members of organizations that have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security – the Chamber of Commerce of United States, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation, TechNet, a technology industry group, and Intrax Inc., which sponsors cultural exchanges.
The decision immediately puts a stop to a series of damaging visa restrictions that prevent manufacturers from filling critical and hard-to-fill jobs to support economic recovery, growth and innovation when needed most, the National Association of Manufacturers.
In June, Donald Trump issued an executive order that temporarily banned the issuance of new H-1B visas, widely used by large American and Indian tech companies, H-2B visas for non-agricultural seasonal workers, J visas for cultural exchanges. and L visas for managers and other key employees of multinationals until the end of the year.
President Trump had argued that the United States must safeguard and protect the jobs of its domestic workforce at a time when millions of them have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A number of IT and other US companies and their representatives voiced their opposition to it.
The manufacturers have gone to court to challenge the ban on the administration of certain visas because the restrictions both undermined the industry at a critical time and were in conflict with the law, said Linda Kelly, vice president Principal and General Counsel of NAM.
We compete with the rest of the world to find and develop the best talent to support innovation in our industry. Today’s decision is a temporary victory for manufacturers determined to build this innovation in the United States, he said.
A long-term victory for manufacturers requires policymakers to support meaningful reforms to our immigration laws that recognize the critical link between smart immigration policy and America’s competitive advantage, Kelly said. .
In his order, the federal judge declared that the president “had exceeded his authority”.
Congressional delegation of authority in the immigration context does not give the President unbridled authority to set domestic policy regarding the employment of non-immigrant foreigners. Such a conclusion would render the President’s powers under Article II almost redundant, Justice White wrote in his 25-page order.
The judge noted that the text of Article I and more than two centuries of legislative practice and judicial precedent make it clear that the Constitution gives Congress, not the President, the power to set immigration policy.
If the fact that immigrants come from other countries inherently made their admission subject to the president’s foreign relations under Article II power, then this whole law would be redundant, the judge said.
Indeed, there must be a certain constraint on the presidential authority in the national sphere in order not to make the executive an entirely monarchical power in the context of immigration, an area falling under clear legislative prerogatives. Such unrestricted authority would run counter to the explicit delegation of powers from Congress in foreign affairs and national security, White said.
Justice White’s ruling contradicts an order made by District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia in August, which ruled he had no authority to prohibit the ban while litigation was in progress. Classes.
The wisdom of the president’s decision to remedy these changed circumstances by restricting the entry of certain categories of foreigners is a political decision that the judiciary is not well equipped to assess, he said.
The H-1B visa, the most sought after among Indian IT professionals, is a nonimmigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in skilled occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Tech companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees every year in countries like India and China.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
